Two Arrested on Child Abuse Charges, Two-Month-Old Hospitalized

An 18-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man were arrested on Friday in connection with the physical abuse of a 2-month-old girl, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Tameeka Shanae Wallace, 18, and Benson Edem Essien, 21, turned themselves in to authorities on Friday morning and were charged with unlawful conduct towards a child by a legal custodian.

The home address of Wallace or Essien, or their relationship with the 2-month-old girl will not be released in order to protect the girl’s identity, Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts said.

The 2-month-old, who is in stable condition at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital, has received medical treatment for fractured ribs and brain trauma since Oct. 7, he said.

A physician determined that the girl’s injuries were the result of physical abuse rather than an accident, and that she had been physically abused for an extended period of time, according to a release from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Detectives began their investigation on Oct. 7 after being notified by hospital personnel of the girl’s injuries.

Metts said arrest warrants allege that between Aug. 15 and Oct. 7, Essien and Wallace, who live near Irmo, unlawfully placed the 2-month-old girl at unreasonable risk of harm by failing to provide timely medical attention and/or inflicting physical injuries or allowing physical injuries to be inflicted.

The Social Services Department will take custody of her when she is released from the hospital, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Essien and Wallace each were being held on Friday at the Lexington County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond.

Under South Carolina law, unlawful conduct towards a child by a legal custodian is a felony that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, Metts said.

Anyone with information about the child abuse case involving Essien and Wallace is asked to call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at (803) 785-8230 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. You can also provide information anonymously by accessing the Crime Tip link.